"The bumpkins who had been accustomed to daub their faces, dress
fantastically, and dun the tradesmen for backsheesh on Plough Monday,
were scarce in Stamford on Monday last. We may therefore hope that
the nuisance of the "plough witches" is dying out. Formerly the
ploughmen, or the loafers who represented agricultural labourers,
were so importunate and so unruly as to cause disturbances in the
town, and such was their indulgence in drink that very few went to
their homes in a state of sobriety."